Abdullah Al-Haqim 
The Economic Group of West African States (Ikewas) has agreed to activate a backup force to fight terrorism and joint security challenges in the region.
The activation of power was announced during the 43rd summit of the leaders of the group’s staff, which started on March 11 in Abuja and lasted for 3 days.
The decision to activate the reserve force in charge of terrorism came in implementation of the recommendations and proposals made to the group in August 2024.
The heads of the General Staff of the Armies in the West African countries participated in the summit, the chief of staff of the reserve force of the Ikewas Group, General Syriauki Aknijiium, and the Commissioner for Politics, Security and Peace in the group, Dr. Abdel Fattah Moussa.
The meeting was also attended by a number of leaders of military operations, and some security experts accredited in the Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security.
At the opening ceremony, the Minister of Defense in Nigeria called on Daru Abu Bakr to activate resources and improve defense capabilities against terrorist threats in the West Africa region.
Eikwas Security Commissioner Abdel Fattah Moussa said that regional security has been threatened with the increasing terrorist groups, violent extremism movements and cross -border crimes.
The coast gap
Moussa called for the necessity of focusing on the defensive structure in light of the regional political situation that changed after the withdrawal of the three coalition coalitions from the Ikewas and its establishment “a special confederation.”
The coalition of the coast countries announced at the beginning of last January the formation of a joint military force of 5,000 soldiers to fight terrorism and security threats in the Sahara and the Sahel.
Commenting on the establishment of power, Niger Defense Minister Salivo Modi said that the presence of the joint army on the ground has become only a matter of time.
Moody added that the new force is characterized by air defenses and intelligence, and will work throughout the Sahel region.
Since the three countries announced their exit from ICASA, they entered into an open confrontation with terrorist groups and armed separatist movements.
The Sahel region is classified as a focus of terrorist movements in the West Africa region, as it finds in its wide desert an opportunity to move and re -spread.
The total area of the Sahel countries reaches 2.8 million square kilometers, or 56% of the total area of Ekwas countries of 5 million square kilometers.
